Gen Y Workers Ask For World – And Get It, At one company, execs agreed to a later workday start and immediate feedback sessions. More Firms Bow to Generation Y’s Demands, They’re often criticized as spoiled, impatient, and most of all, entitled. But as millennials enter the workforce, more companies are jumping through hoops to accommodate their demands for faster promotions, greater responsibilities and more flexible work schedules-much to the annoyance of older co-workers who feel they have spent years paying their dues to rise through the ranks.
Employers, however, say concessions are necessary to retain the best of millennials, also known as Generation Y, which is broadly defined as those born in the 1980s and 1990s. They bring fresh skills to the workplace: they’re tech-savvy, racially diverse, socially interconnected and collaborative. Moreover, companies need to keep their employee pipelines full as baby boomers enter retirement.
It is estimated Gen Y will comprise more than 40% of the U.S. workforce by 2020, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, far outnumbering any other generation.
A little over two years ago, Chegg Inc., an online textbook-rental service based in Silicon Valley, was struggling with high turnover among its millennial employees.
Chief Executive Dan Rosensweig gleaned from millennials’ exit interviews that they felt there was too much bureaucracy and not enough communication, utilization of their talent or fun. They also wanted the option of leaving the office at 2 p.m. and continuing their work at a Starbucks.
Like other companies looking to accommodate these younger workers, Chegg had to tread a fine line. Too much special treatment, and older workers would feel neglected. Too little, and younger workers would leave.
Mr. Rosensweig and his management team eliminated some middle-management positions to give younger hires more exposure to projects, and they introduced an unlimited paid vacation policy. He said no one has abused that policy.
The annual turnover rate among millennials has since fallen by 50% each year for the last two years, Mr. Rosensweig said. “If they don’t feel like they’re making a contribution to a company overall quickly, they don’t stay,” he said. “If you provide them with the right environment, they’ll work forever, around the clock.”
Some critics contend that Gen Y is no different from previous generations.
Kevin Coyne, a 57-year-old business strategy professor at Emory University, said many of the qualities that define millennials are simply signs of youth. As a young McKinsey & Co. consultant in the 1970s, he recalls overhearing a manager describe his generation as being disloyal and rebellious.
Employers, however, say concessions are necessary to retain the best of millennials, also known as Generation Y, which is broadly defined as those born in the 1980s and 1990s. They bring fresh skills to the workplace: they’re tech-savvy, racially diverse, socially interconnected and collaborative. Moreover, companies need to keep their employee pipelines full as baby boomers enter retirement.
It is estimated Gen Y will comprise more than 40% of the U.S. workforce by 2020, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, far outnumbering any other generation.
A little over two years ago, Chegg Inc., an online textbook-rental service based in Silicon Valley, was struggling with high turnover among its millennial employees.
Chief Executive Dan Rosensweig gleaned from millennials’ exit interviews that they felt there was too much bureaucracy and not enough communication, utilization of their talent or fun. They also wanted the option of leaving the office at 2 p.m. and continuing their work at a Starbucks.
Like other companies looking to accommodate these younger workers, Chegg had to tread a fine line. Too much special treatment, and older workers would feel neglected. Too little, and younger workers would leave.
Mr. Rosensweig and his management team eliminated some middle-management positions to give younger hires more exposure to projects, and they introduced an unlimited paid vacation policy. He said no one has abused that policy.
The annual turnover rate among millennials has since fallen by 50% each year for the last two years, Mr. Rosensweig said. “If they don’t feel like they’re making a contribution to a company overall quickly, they don’t stay,” he said. “If you provide them with the right environment, they’ll work forever, around the clock.”
Some critics contend that Gen Y is no different from previous generations.
Kevin Coyne, a 57-year-old business strategy professor at Emory University, said many of the qualities that define millennials are simply signs of youth. As a young McKinsey & Co. consultant in the 1970s, he recalls overhearing a manager describe his generation as being disloyal and rebellious.
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